China's Long March 7A rocket explodes less than 90 seconds after liftoff

China's Long March 7A carrier rocket exploded shortly after liftoff Monday (local time), destroying the communications satellite it was carrying.

State-run Xinhua News Agency reported that the rocket, carrying the Zhongxing 4B satellite, lifted off from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in Hainan Province at around 8:02 p.m. but suffered an anomaly during flight, causing the mission to fail. Xinhua said an analysis and investigation into the cause is underway.

Hong Kong media outlets including the South China Morning Post cited footage posted on social media to report that the rocket exploded approximately 85 seconds after liftoff — less than 90 seconds into the flight.

Some experts said the upper section of the rocket appeared to have broken apart around the point of maximum aerodynamic pressure, suggesting the vehicle's flight termination system may have activated after the anomaly occurred, triggering the explosion.

Foreign media identified the rocket as the Long March 7A, a model used to place large satellites into high orbit, and noted this was its second launch failure — the first having occurred during its maiden flight in March 2020. The model had achieved more than 10 consecutive successful launches since 2021, most recently carrying a satellite into orbit on July 29.

The Chengdu Daily reported that this was China's fourth rocket launch failure this year. On Jan. 17, two Chinese commercial rockets failed on the same day in separate launches.

The South China Morning Post described the Zhongxing 4B as a satellite designed to provide radio, television and other communications services to users worldwide, while noting that "lower-numbered Zhongxing satellites, such as 4B, are believed to be used for military communications."

The Post added that no official details about the Zhongxing 4B have been publicly disclosed, but the satellite is believed to have cost more than 1 billion yuan ($148 million).

The failure could also affect other upcoming launch schedules. The South China Morning Post noted that a Long March 5 rocket — which uses engines from the same family as the Long March 7A — is scheduled to launch the Chang'e 7 lunar probe on Aug. 24, and said the timetable could be disrupted if the failure is found to stem from an engine defect.